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nescafé frequently asked questions

FAQs

Want to find out more about how instant coffee is made? How much caffeine is in instant coffee? Or how you can get one of our famous red NESCAFÉ mugs?

 

Answers to the questions we get asked the most about in the world of NESCAFÉ®.

General FAQs

Our NESCAFÉ instant coffees (NESCAFÉ BLEND 43 and NESCAFÉ Gold) contain between 50mg and 90 mg per 2g serve.
Our NESCAFÉ Sachets cofees range in caffeine content between 50mg and 100mg per serve. The only exception is the Cappuccino Decaf variant, which contains approximately 5mg of caffeine per 15g serve.
Coffee beans were discovered in Ethiopia, where they are still grown today.Legend has it that a goatherd named Kaldi realised that his goats became far more active and didn't want to sleep at night after eating the berries of a certain bush. That was the start of the long history of coffee, with the first use of coffee as a drink being recorded in Yemen, in the 15th century. Since then, coffee has spread to various other regions in the world - with NESCAFÉ® coffee beans coming from Africa, South America, and Asia.
There are 4 types of coffee bean.Arabica, Robusto, Excelsa and Liberica. All four have radically different taste profiles. NESCAFÉ® uses a careful blend of two types of beans – Arabica, which makes a smoother, sweeter coffee, and Robusta, which brews into an intense, bold coffee, with a higher caffeine content.
A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant. It's the part that gets roasted, brewed, and ground into the coffee granules you use every day. Often referred to as a cherry, it is the pip inside the red or purple fruit of the coffee plant.
NESCAFÉ® carefully blends together Robusta and Arabica beans to create our signature instant coffee granules. The Arabica beans we use are grown in Latin America and Eastern Africa. The Robusta beans (as well as their close relative, the Conillon) we use require different growing conditions, and are farmed in South East Asia, and Western Africa. Conillon specifically grows in Brazil.
Freeze-dried coffee is made by brewing ground coffee beans with water, evaporating some as much of the water as possible to leave behind a coffee extract, which is then frozen and broken up into soluble instant coffee granules.
Making instant coffee granules from coffee beans is a long process with four main parts – harvesting the beans, drying them, roasting them, and milling them.
NESCAFÉ® instant coffee granules are made from 100% pure coffee. The only thing added throughout the process is plain water, which is then mostly removed toward the end of the process.
We’d recommend 1 teaspoon (3 grams) of NESCAFÉ® instant coffee, but you might prefer it a different level of intensity. Experiment with the help of our Instant Coffee recipe and find your perfect taste!
You can add your favourite sweetener – whether it’s sugar, or a flavoured syrup. Milk will also help to cut the intensity and boldness of the coffee. It’s all about finding your personal taste, so experiment with what you like to find your flavour.
Making your favourite NESCAFÉ® deliciously creamy and smooth more is as simple as adding milk, creamer, or milk powder. A little bit goes a long way so try a all three options to find your perfect combination.
Yes, precisely! The only difference is that iced coffee is made directly with cold water, instead of boiling your kettle first. While the ingredients are the same as a normal cup of coffee (coffee granules and water), you can add ice cubes, chilled milk, or whipped cream to flavour it with your personal style. It’s not the same as making a hot cup of NESCAFÉ® and letting it cool – it’s about getting ice-cold refreshment from your favourite NESCAFÉ®.
There are many ways to make froth for coffee, iced or hot. Use a whisk, an electric mixer, a coffee plunger, or a frothing machine to get your milk frothy and velvety. Note: Dairy milk froths better than plant-based alternatives.
Coffee is a versatile drink that works well with lots of different flavours. A good place to start would be with hazelnut, chocolate, or toffee flavours.
With NESCAFÉ® it is pretty easy. Simply boil water, add this to 2tsp coffee granules, stir and enjoy. With your favourite NESCAFÉ® blend,you could also explore any of our simple recipes. Give it a try and taste for yourself.
There are so many coffee recipes to try. We’ve put together some of our favourites – like a Caramel Latte and even an Almond Cappuccino - give them all a try and find out which one is your favourite.
It’s all about personal taste. If you like your coffee sweeter, add some sugar or flavoured syrup. You can add milk, or a plant-based alternative like oat milk to soften the bold flavours slightly. Experiment with your favourite flavours and find out what works best for you.
The base of any baristas coffee is a shot of espresso made with grounded whole beans. For an Americano, they simply add hot water to that shot of Espresso. With NESCAFÉ® you are able to be a barista at home because we have done the hard work for you.
There are over 30 combinations of coffee types in the world - from Cappuccino to a Café Au Lait . From this, there are thousands of unique recipes to make these coffee types your own, with new recipes being invented all the time. Give them all a try and find out which one is your favourite.
The strongest type of coffee is freshly brewed espresso. It forms the base for most coffee drinks, and is easily enjoyed with added milk, but can be enjoyed by itself if you like strong, bold, intense coffee flavours
A latte is generally considered the least intense coffee. Made with freshly brewed espresso, the taste is then made less intense because of the volume of milk added, which makes it sweeter tasting and with a more mellow taste.
A latte is generally considered the least intense coffee as it has one of the biggest milk-to-coffee ratio. Made with 1/3rd freshly brewed espresso and the remaining 2/3rd consisting of foamed milk, the taste is a little sweeter with a more mellow taste.
The cappuccino, the latte , and the espresso shot are probably the most popular types – or at least, the most well-known. But there’s a lot more variety to be discovered and enjoyed. A café Au Lait takes it's inspiration from a latte but is made with brewed coffee whereas a lungo is similar to an espresso but comes in a larger volume.
Our choc powder isn’t available for purchase; however, you can still personalise your coffee by using your favourite hot chocolate, cocoa, or any other toppings of your choice! If you like something sweet, you might like to try Nesquik.

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Troubleshooting

When you first purchase your machine, we’d suggest you watch this short 2 minute video which will show you how to best look after your machine​.

This may be a result of a small blockage. Before preparing your next cup, clean and dry the capsule holder, particularly the beverage outlet opening. We can assure you that the quality of the final beverage is not impacted and can be consumed.​

This is normal; as long as the capsule is not removed and discarded it will continue to drip into the cup or the drip tray (once the cup is removed). The dripping lasts longer for coffee capsules than for milk capsules. To stop dripping, remove and discard the used capsule after the light stops blinking.​

It is likely that you removed the holder from the machine too soon. Always wait for the light to stop blinking before removing the holder from the machine.​

Do not try to remove the capsule holder too soon. Always wait for the light to stop blinking. If still difficult to remove, do not force. Switch off the machine and wait for 5 minutes before trying to remove. It is important to clean your capsule holder after each use, to ensure no residual product is causing stickiness.

Water can leak when the water tank or the seal at the base of the machine is damaged. Firstly try these steps:

1.    Remove the water tank from the machine.

2.   Place the water tank on a tea towel on the bench and leave it for a short time (30-60 minutes).

3.   If the tea towel is wet then it is the water tank that may be the cause.

4.   If the tea towel is dry, then it is most likely the seal on the base of the machine.


Once you’ve gone through these steps and identified the possible issue, please call our NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® team on 1800 466 975 or click here to reach us by email. If you can provide the EDG/Type/NCU number found at the bottom of your machine this will enable us to help you quickly. We’ll help as best as we can, but if your machine is past it’s 2 year warranty, we may not be in a position to replace this for you.

Firstly, check if there is water in the water tank. If no, fill tank with water and start again.If this is not the cause, the needle in the head of the machine may be blocked. The unblocking tool, which came with your machine, should be inserted into the needle to dislodge any blockage (the unblocking tool is metal and looks like a partially uncoiled spring). Before using the unblocking tool, please unplug your machine and let it cool; remove the capsule holder from the machine and lower the central lever. If the machine is brand new, or has been unused for a period of time, there may be air inhibiting water flow. To resolve this, the machine should be primed. To prime the machine, lift the water tank [with water] up and down a number of times on the back of the machine as this can be useful in expelling any air pockets. You can expect to see air bubbles rising in the tank. We suggest performing this action 10 - 20 times, then trying to achieve flow ensuring you have a cup underneath the dispenser to catch any water. This can be repeated numerous times until flow is achieved. If you have completed the above steps and there is still no flow, turn your machine off and on (switching off at power point as well) and repeat the previous step up to 10 times until water flows. In between each time turning it off and on, lift and put down the water tank a few times to apply pressure in the pipes.If you still have concerns, please do not hesitate to call us 1800 466 975 or submit an enquiry via Contact Us Online | Get in touch for any inquiries | NESCAFÉ AU

The level of foam depends on the size of the cup, the position of the drip tray, and sometimes the milk and coffee powders which are natural products that might show a small seasonality effect.​

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Machine enquiries

The NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® machine pumps water at up to 15-bar pressure into the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsule.


The high pressure and the capsules are designed to deliver an even distribution of water and pressure over the coffee to get the full flavour. This system uses pressure similar to that of professional cafe quality machines.

All NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® machines are produced with an iconic NESCAFÉ® red protective power cable which aligns with our NESCAFÉ® branding.

We have some spare parts available for our current machines. If you need replacement parts for your machine, please let us know your machine model (e.g. Genio S, Piccolo XS, Infinnissima) and the EDG, Type of NCU number on the bottom of the machine. Call our NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® team on 1800 466 975 or reach via Contact Us Online | Get in touch for any inquiries | NESCAFÉ AU and we’ll arrange for the part to come out to you if its available.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any rinsing tools available, however if you’ve misplaced your tool, you can use a conventional needle or pin instead.​

There are minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are naturally present in most water supplies. The accumulation of these minerals may cause the build up of limescale. Over time, limescale slows waterflow, reduces the capacity and could reduce the effectiveness of heating the water used to make your drinks. Descaling removes the build up of limescale, keeping water flow fast and pump pressure high.

We recommend using a universal liquid descaling kit available to purchase from most electrical retailers to descale your NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® machine every 6 months (or every 300 cups).​

If you’ve tried descaling and unclogging the injector as explained in the machine leaflet, and are still having problems, please call our NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® team on 1800 466 975 or reach us by email so we can help. If you can let us know the exact nature of the problem, the type of machine you have and the age of your machine, this will help us troubleshoot with you.​

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsule enquiries

We cannot comment on other companies’ capsules’ and their compatibility with our NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® machines. The NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsules and the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® machines are designed to interact together.​

Yes, all NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsules can now be recycled via our partnership with experts TerraCycle®. For more information on how to start recycling today visit www.terracycle.com.au​.

No, none of our capsules contain soy milk.

Unfortunately the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Milk capsules are not available on their own at this time.​

By using the milk capsule first and then the coffee capsule, the foam of the final beverage remains white. This is the authentic way of preparing these beverages. If the opposite is done, the foam becomes brown.